Rotary disk glue applicator



May 31, 1949.

Filed April 4, 1947 L. c. FITZGERALD .ROTARY DISK GLUE APPLICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet l v INVENTOR L.C.FITZ6ERALD ATTORNEYS y 1949- L. c. FITZGERALD I 2,471,519

ROTARY DISK GLUE APPLICATOR I Filed April 4, 1947 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I .1 l

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INVENTOR LCJAZGERALD 7Q- 4mmi27 ATTORNEYS Patented May 31, 1949 Lawrence C. Fitzgerald, Oregon,

Wis.; dedicated to the free use of the People in the territory of the United States Application April 4, 1947, Serial No. 739,352

4 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March amended April 30, 1928; 370 0.

This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

I hereby dedicate the invention herein described to the free use of the people in the territory of the United States to take effect on the granting of a patent to me.

This invention relates to an improvement in applicators for glue or other liquids. It particularly relates to a device for applying a predetermined amount of glue to a narrow strip of wood or other material. The applicator is designed to apply a limited amount of glue to the joint so that when pressure is applied to the joint the glue will spread out to the edges and no farther, to avoid depositing of beads of glue outside the joint. This is accomplished by forming a glue track narrower than the work and by applying a measured or limited amount of glue.

I attain these objects by the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a top view in perspective;

Figure 2 is a vertical view, partly in section, and with a strip of wood in place;

Figure 3 is a vertical view, partly in section, and taken at right angles to Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a detailed view of the spread regulator.

The applicator comprises a container I for the glue, a slotted cover 4 for the container, and an outer casing 2 containing water or other temperature regulating fluid.

The means for applying the glue to the wood comprises a relatively thin disc II), which is narrower than the wood strips to be glued. The disc is provided with a circumferential groove 26, to increase the retention of glue at the center of the rim, and has knurled edges at 28 on the rim to prevent slippage between the-wood and the disc. Disc I is suspended from cover 4 by means of two brackets 5 to each of which is fixedly attached a spindle 6, by means of a locknut 1. Both spindles have conical bearing surfaces which fit into recessed ends of the shaft 8, which shaft is free to rotate on the conical surfaces. Shaft 8 passes through the center of disc 10, the latter being fixedly but removably and adjustably mounted thereon by placing a clamping disc 25 in position on the shaft 8 against each face of disc I0 and tightening adjusting nuts 9 against the disc. Shaft 8 is screw-threaded. Discs of various thick- 3, 1883, as G. 757) nesses may be used, for use with wood strips of different widths.

To regulate the spread of glue on the disc in there is provideda bent plate 2! having a bifurcated depending end 24 resting against or adjacent the disc. The other-end of plate 2| has two slots in each of which is'a fastening screw 22. This permits horizontal adjustment of plate 2|, end 24 being movable toward or away from the disc. Further adjustment is provided by vertical adjusting .screw 23 the threads 'of which seat in a threaded hole in and through plate 2|. By turning screw '23, the part 29 of plate 21 is raised or lowered. This may be'done after tightening screws22, with the result that the lower end of screw 23 may be brought to bear against cover A to raise end 24. The plate may be designed to barely touch the rim of the disc or to just clear the rim of the disc.

Mounted on'the cover are two stationary standards 20, one at each side of the disc. To the rear of standards 20 and at or adjacent to the highest point of the disc are positioned two vertical rollers 12, one on each side of the disc. Rollers l2 are free to rotate on stationary shafts 13. Each shaft [3 is supported at its lower end in a hole in bracket l5, preferably being screw-threadedly held therein. The shafts l3 are supported at their upper ends in holes in frames 14. By unscrewing shafts l3 the rollers may be removed. Each frame I4 is mounted upon its plate 16. Each plate 16 is pivotally fastened at one end to the cover 4 by a screw ll. A slot 19 is provided at the other end, in which is seated a screw 18. Each roller is therefore individually adjustable toward or away from the sides of disc ID, by loosening screws 18 and pivoting plates 16.

Mounted on each standard 20 is a guide plate 30 which may be adjustably attached to standard 20 by a fastening screw and slot in the same manner as is illustrated at l8, IS in Figure 1 or at 22 in Figure 4, to permit horizontal adjustment toward or away from the plane of the disc 10'.

The outer casing 2 may be provided with a heater, for example, an electrical heating unit, to keep the water bath warm when a hot glue is used.

When the glue is of a type that hardens upon heating, the water bath may be cooled, for example, with ice.

The glue spreader described has found useful application in the gluing of low-density core materials by high-frequency dielectric heating. By means of the apparatus shown large thin panels or sheets of end grain balsa have been fashioned by gluing together the edges of many narrow and comparatively small strips of end grain balsa without deposit of glue outside of the joints. The apparatus can also be used in edge gluing.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An applicator comprising a casing, a slotted cover for said casing, a vertical disc supported within the casing, a portion of the disc projecting through the slot in the cover, a shaft passing through a hole in the center of the disc, means for positioning and fastening the disc on the shaft, said means and said disc being movable longitudinally along the shaft to adjust the position of the disc, mounting means for suspending said shaft from said cover, the said shaft being free to rotate, work guide means mounted on the cover at each side of the plane of the disc adjacent the lowermost portion of the projecting periphery of the disc, second work guide means comprising two vertical rollers the axes of which are each p0si tioned at each face of the disc, opposite the point of maximum elevation of the periphery of the disc, which is the point of glue application, a vertical axial shaft for each roller, means for supporting each vertical shaft on the cover and for adjusting each roller, horizontally, toward or away from the said disc.

2. The apparatus described in claim 1 in which the rim of the disc is provided with a circumferential groove.

3. An applicator comprising an apertured cover plate, a disc the rim of which is provided with a circumferential groove, a portion of the disc projecting through the aperture in the cover plate, mounting means for rotatably supporting the disc, suspending means for suspending the mounting means from one face of the cover plate, work guide means mounted on the opposite face of the plate, comprising two vertical rollers each adjacent opposite faces of the projectin disc, opposite the point of maximum elevation of the periphery of the disc, a vertical axial shaft for each roller, means for supporting each vertical shaft on the plate and for adjusting each roller horizontally toward or away from the said disc, and having a spread regulator comprising a scraper plate having a part attached to and extending over the upper face of the cover and a bifurcated part extending downwardly below the cover and adjacent the upper rim and two faces of the disc, means attached to the upper face of the cover for adjusting the position of the part of the scraper plate attached to the cover horizontally toward and away from the disc, and means bearing against the scraper plate and the upper face of the cover for adjusting the vertical position of the bifurcated part.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, in which the means for supporting each vertical shaft constitutes a frame for each roller shaft, a base-plate upon which the frame is mounted, one end of each base-plate being pivotally mounted upon the cover plate, the other end of each base-plate being movable toward and away from the disc, and adjustable means for fastening the said other ends in position on the cover plate.

LAWRENCE C. FITZGERALD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 719,554 Barnes Feb. 3, 1903 1,461,461 Shofter July 10, 1923 2,360,582 Richardson Oct. 17, 1944 

